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| Iraq |
| More than 100 Soddies in Iraqi jails |
| 2005-10-04 |
| There were more than 100 Saudis in Iraqi jails in connection with Al Qaeda activities, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the Saudi newspaper Al Medinah in a report published yesterday. Zebari spoke to the paper on Sunday before attending a meeting in Jeddah of Arab foreign ministers about the situation in Iraq. âThose (Saudis) were tricked because they were recruited to conduct terrorist operations against Iraq and its people that targeted civilians and institutions,â Zebari said. Zebari was referring to promises allegedly made to the recruits that they would fight the US military presence. âThe danger posed by (Saudis joining the insurgency) is not to Iraq alone, but also towards the kingdom. What happened with Afghanistan must not happen with Iraq. Let it be a lesson,â he added. Zebari also voiced concerns about Iranâs growing influence in Iraq after other Arab countries fled the region and created a âvoidâ that neighbouring Iran has filled. The minister also said that Arabs who joined radical groups to fight the Soviet Unionâs presence in Afghanistan, which began in 1979, subsequently returned to their homelands where they founded terrorist organisations that wrought havoc domestically. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |